My name is Bruno Oliveira Cova, and I work mainly with health practices focused on Infectious and Endemic Diseases; Molecular Biology applied to Parasitology, Entomological Surveillance; Health education; Science Teaching and Scientific Dissemination. I believe that my academic and professional experiences can contribute to the ECLIPSE team.
I started this area when I was a Biologist at the Entomology Center in Laboratory of Bahia Public Health (LACEN) between 2010 and 2016, working with the Surveillance of Vector Transmitted Diseases in the state of Bahia, Brazil, mainly Leishmaniasis. During this period, I had the opportunity to rely on health education cycles promoted by the institution that allowed me to access national reference centres in Leishmaniasis, such as the Oswaldo Cruz Institute in Rio de Janeiro when I was a special student of the discipline Ecology of Leishmaniasis (2010) coordinated by professor Elizabeth Rangel; and the René Rachou Research Center, in Minas Gerais, where I had the opportunity to carry out training at the National and International Reference Center for Phlebotomines (2012) coordinated by Professor José Dilermando Andrade Filho.
My multidisciplinary training added knowledge about Brazil’s international routines for the surveillance, prevention and control of Leishmaniasis. During this professional relationship, we prepare normative and informative documents, activity and follow-up reports, as well as other documents and training events aimed at guiding care networks for patients affected by Leishmaniasis, such as lectures and training for health professionals about ecoepidemiological aspects of this disease, in addition to the diagnosis of human and canine cases and taxonomic identification of vector species.
The end of the professional relationship with LACEN directed my efforts to continue working with the Ecoepidemiology of Leishmaniasis, joining the Postgraduate Program in Health Sciences at the Medicine Faculty of the Federal University of Bahia (2018). I developed my master’s project under professor Albert Schriefer, a researcher with extensive experience in epidemiological, genetic and immunopathological studies of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in the state of Bahia, with several works published in journals with a high impact factor. The research was carried out at the Immunology Service of the Prof. Edgard Santos University Hospital of the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), a research group that for over thirty years has investigated aspects inherent to Tegumentary Leishmaniasis, in partnership with the Reference Centre of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis Prof. Jackson Costa, located in the district of Corte de Pedra, municipality of Tancredo Neves, southeastern Bahia.
The PhD project in progress since 2021 continues to investigate ecoepidemiological characteristics of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in southeastern Bahia. The beginning of the fieldwork put me in contact with the ECLIPSE’s project. Through ECLIPSE, we are carrying out training courses to orient knowledge, practices and health services organizations for the care of people affected by Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (CL). The training was structured in an intersectoral health approach based on collaborative teaching practices and shared experiences with community members, professionals and managers of local education and healthcare services. This research gave me a very close understanding of the population affected by Tegumentary Leishmaniasis, establishing links that transpose the therapeutic itinerary taken by these people.
I have proactivity, responsibility, flexibility, engagement and ease of learning as outstanding qualities. I can adapt to challenging environments professionally, with the ability to work in different professional contexts. In addition, my professional trajectory is a tireless attempt at social justice, even if it is on the micropolitical scale. Working with a neglected disease like Leishmaniasis mainly affects populations that suffer health inequities and represents a way of aligning with my ethical and moral principles.